"Every asteroid belt has a buckle. Lot of people don't know that."
- Captain Lee Taylor, 'Relic'
She found him sitting at his father's desk, when everyone else had gone to bed. She reached out and touched the back of his head, the way she did when he was a little boy. His thick, dark hair was peppered with moon dust. She stroked it once or twice, twisted a lock of it around her finger, then let her hand fall to his shoulder.
"Sounds like you had quite the adventure up there, young man."
Scott looked at her and smiled, but she was quick to notice the exhaustion behind his eyes.
"I sure did, Grandma," he told her. "Captain Taylor is quite a guy."
"Well, your father was- " Scott flinched, and she corrected herself, "...is also quite a guy. You know what they say about birds of a feather."
"Yeah, they flock together. I kinda like the idea of Dad and Lee Taylor causing havoc everywhere they went, like a couple of space cowboys."
She squeezed his shoulder, noting that he was getting stronger and broader with every passing year. "You know what else they say about the apple not falling far from the tree."
A staccato chuckle burst from her eldest grandson's lips. "You're full of them tonight, Grandma. Cheesy old cliches, that is."
"Excuse me, Mr. Cynical. The reason why they're called cliches is because they've been true for thousands of years. Captain Taylor, your father, and you. Three peas from the same pod. Don't argue with me- I know what I'm talking about."
Scott leaned forward over his father's desk. "There's so much of Dad that I don't know about, Grandma. He was a pioneer of Space- his generation paved the way. I bet he had adventures that put all of our missions in the shade."
"Be careful of placing him on too high a pedestal," Grandma said gently. "To say that everything he did was an 'adventure' is to diminish your own achievements. You and Virgil, John, Gordon and Alan, you are five fine young men doing all you can to save humanity from disaster. I wouldn't call that a walk in the park, would you?"
"Don't forget Kayo and Brains."
"I'm not forgetting Kayo and Brains, mister. I'm making a point about my five grandsons." She pulled teasingly on a strand of his hair. "My five beautiful, humanitarian grandsons of whom I could not be prouder, especially at times like this. Why, it makes my crusty old heart swell to think of the impression you made on one of my son's closest friends. Jeff's legacy, your legacy, will continue on down through the ages. I think in that respect, we're a very lucky family indeed."
Scott took a moment or two to let her words sink in, then rubbed his hands over his weary face. "According to Captain Taylor, Dad said that all asteroid belts have a buckle. I'm not even sure if John knew that, although I haven't asked. But if it's true, then it's something we need to know. It could be very beneficial to us in future space rescues."
"Well, there you go. Learning something new every day."
"Why wouldn't he have recorded it, though?"
Grandma cast her eyes around the room, taking in the beauty of their surroundings. Everything had been bought with a millionaire's money. Her son's money. Her missing son, who was out there somewhere, ether alive or dead.
"I don't know, Scott," she confessed. "I really don't."
"You'd think it was something he'd want us to know. If you can use the buckle as a shield against a solar flare, then think of all the other possibilities. This thing could save lives!"
"Then research it!" Grandma's voice grew suddenly strident. "You do it, Scott! You find out about the buckle and you log it into the International Rescue database!"
Scott's voice rose a notch to meet his grandmother's. "Dad should have done it!"
"But he didn't. He was... he is, human, just like we all are. He had... has his strengths and weaknesses, just like we all do." Noticing the fleeting look of panic in Scott's eyes, she tried to hug him the way she'd hugged him when he was a little boy. "Have the confidence to be your own man, Scott. Take what you know of your father and build on it. It's all very well to think of him as a gallivanting space cowboy, but don't let the thrill of adventure cloud what's really important." She tried to fold her arms around him but his manly shoulders seemed set against her right now. "Not to put too fine a point on it, International Rescue is in your hands. Take everything you encounter as a lesson. No one is infallible... no one. Not even your father."
"Don't bring him down to my level," Scott murmured. "Please don't do that, or I'll never forgive you."
Grandma bent down and kissed the top of his head, just as she used to do when putting him to bed. "Landsakes, Scott, don't be so dramatic. I'm not bringing anyone down to anyone's level. I'm just trying to say that both you and your father are fallible human beings who make mistakes, but also know how to correct them. You can't be perfect; no one is. All you can do is strive to be your very best. If Jeff didn't put it in the record books about the buckle, then let that duty fall to his successor." She nudged his shoulder, trying to ease him out of his funk. "In case you didn't realize it, that successor is you."
"Ugh," grunted Scott.
"Indeed," agreed Grandma. "So much responsibility. But you're not alone; you've got me, Brains and MAX for a start. You know Brains is itching for a new project. And John. Think how Ginger Snap's gonna feel when he finds out there's something he doesn't know!"
"Grandma!" Scott snorted through his nose. "You can't call John 'Ginger Snap'!"
"I can, and I do," she laughed. "And you know what? He loves it."
"I highly doubt it."
"Highly doubt what you want. I'm older than you and I pull rank."
"Really? And what rank is that?"
"Matriarch. Of this entire family. And that includes your wayward father." Grandma gave Scott a final pat on the back, then turned away from her son's desk and started across the room. "Go to bed, Scott. Everyone else has. Even Captain Taylor."
"Just gimme five more minutes."
Grandma reached the edge of the room and looked back. Dwarfed by the high ceilings of Tracy House and bathed in the ambient glow of night lights, Scott seemed almost incapable of bearing the weight pressing down on his shoulders. Too old to send to bed, but too young to be in charge of such a huge organization as International Rescue, she could only hope he'd come to understand that he was as much of a man as his father was, and just as much of a pioneer.
Her eldest grandson smiled, and in that brief, wonderful moment she could have sworn it was Jeff sitting there.
"I guess we all hide behind the buckle once in a while, don't we?" he said, enigmatically.
"Five minutes," she acknowledged. "And then I'm comin' to getcha."